Just like everyone else, I get in a rut when it comes to meal planning. I would love all our meals to be nutritious and home made and have something wonderful on the table no matter what happens each day.
This past year I have put more emphasis on this. I have been canning so I KNOW what we are eating. I got a pressure canner for Christmas and have been trying to put up meals for my hubby to take to work while he is on graveyards.
Soups seem to easily fit this bill. I have never been much of a soup gal though so I have been reaching DEEP! They need to be hearty but tasty. Honestly my hubby can be difficult to cook for. He does not really like to step outside the box but also does not want what he grew up on. It takes some coaxing. Maybe it is me and I get nervous because he has not been interest in some things i have made because of these things. I asked him and he said something with beans in it. This really shocked me, I have not cooked lentils. In our marriage aside from chili.
I came up with idea of a Taco soup. There are lots of recipes online. They all seemed to include a package of dry ranch dressing. This just did not seem palatable to me so I decided to wing it.
I first put about half a bag of small white beans in a bowl and covered them in boiling water. I then grabbed my huge stockpot and browned a few pounds of beef. I added three chopped onions and two chopped green peppers and a head of garlic chopped. We like garlic, if you do not, reduce to a few cloves. I also added in two packages of taco seasoning.
Once all that was browned I added 2 quarts and one pint of diced tomatoes. I had canned these myself. One was done with chili flakes the other with Italian seasoning. Next was a quart if homemade tomato sauce. I added a quart of kidney beans (yes I canned them too) and then drained the white beans and added them in.
Lastly I added a bag (medium not the huge ones) of niblets corn and three quarts of water. Simmer for a few hours until the beans are soft.
At serving I topped each bowl with some shredded cheddar cheese, a dollup of sour cream and then laid on top of that some home canned salsa. Sprinkle some green onions and you are ready for a taste sensation!!
The kids loved this soup. Hubby did too. I canned up the remainder and got 6 quarts. Hubby has taken a jar to work already and declared it yummy even without the toppings.
Taco soup for the win. A new addition to my cooking repertoire. This is likely to be made monthly in the Racher Shack. A great Friday night meal paired with a laid back attitude of TGIF and your favorite beer.
So there we be... The first "in the kitchen" post of Nechako Notionary.
A note about the beans....the bag has them actually labelled as "white beans". You could easily use pinto or navy beans as a sub. ~ Michelle
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